Timer positioning mechanism

ABSTRACT

When a cycle selection button is depressed, it causes a selected wire to be torsionally stressed to cause the selected pin to be biased downwardly against the surface of the rotary disc. The disc is carried by the timer shaft which is moved outwardly during the selection/positioning operation. The disc has various radially and circumferentially positioned holes into one of which a selected pin may drop to thereby correctly position the timer at the start of the selected cycle. Three holes are provided in the disc on the radius of the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soak&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; pin and a masking arrangement covers or uncovers, as the case may be, the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soak&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; holes so only that hole which properly combines with the selected cycle is operative. The masking arrangement is actuated by one of the possible cycle pins. Therefore, a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soak&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; period may be selected to precede any of a number of cycles while employing only one &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soak&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; button and one &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;soak&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; pin.

United States Patent [1 1 Ditzig [4 1 Feb. 5, 1974 TIMER POSITIONINGMECHANISM Albert F. Ditzig, Hoffman Estates, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Controls Company of America,

Schiller Park, Ill.

[22] Filed: Nov. 16, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 307,179

[75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 74/813 R, 74/102, 200/38 R [51] Int. Cl. Fl6h 35/18 [58]Field of Search74/8l3 R, 8l6, 10.2; 200/38 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,236 l23 2/l966 Beck etal..l 74/8l3 3.330,l72 7/[967 Putterbaugh et al 200/38 R X PrimaryExaminer-Benjamin W. Wyche Assistant Examiner-F. D. Shoemaker Attorney,Agent, or FirmMichael, Best & Friedrich [57] ABSTRACT When a cycleselection button is depressed, it causes a selected wire to betorsionally stressed to cause the selected pin to be biased downwardlyagainst the surface of the rotary disc. The disc is carried by the timershaft which is moved outwardly during the selection/- positioningoperation. The disc has various radially and circumferentiallypositioned holes into one of which a selected pin may drop to therebycorrectly position the timer at the start of the selected cycle. Threeholes are provided in the disc on the radius of the soak" pin and amasking arrangement covers or uncovers, as the case may be, the soak"holes so only that hole which properly combines with the selected cycleis operative. The masking arrangement is actuated by one of the possiblecycle pins. Therefore, a soak period may be selected to precede any of anumber of cycles while employing only one soak button and one soak" pin.

10 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,701

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 t 15613} 1 e W ii M Patented Feb. 5, 1974 3,789,701

(5 Slmets-Sheet Patented Feb. 5, 1974 I 3,789,701

3 Sheets-Sheet m M l pars, L 1" 1 TIMER POSITIONING MECHANISM BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION The basic method of selecting the proper rotaryposition of the timer is known in the trade as a pin set" mechanism. US.Pat. No. 2,973,672 shows the original concept. With the advent of thetimed soak concept in washing, it was a simple matter to provide anotherpin to give such a feature alone or by electrical switching effectiveupon selection of both soak" and the cotton" cycle, followedautomatically by the cotton cycle. lfit was desired to have soakfollowed by some other cycle it was deemed necessary for the operator toinitiate the wash cycle after the soak period. To provide automaticsequencing was thought to require too many additional selection buttonsand pins which, in turn, resulted in an awesome array one the washerpanel enough to discourage all but the most determined users. The goalwas to be able to select various soak positions with automaticallyensuing cycles while presenting the user with but one soak button toactuate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENION This invention provides a masking arrangementcoupled with multiple soak positions and actuated by wash cycleselections to limit the effective soak position to the one properlypreceding the selected cycle. There are three potential holes for thesoak pin to drop into to locate the timer in three soak positions. Onehole is uncovered and, if that soak position is not desired, the maskingarrangement prevents the pin from entering the hole. The other two holesare masked to prevent entry of the pin unless a corresponding cycle hasbeen selected. In that event the mask is moved to uncover the properhole. While illustrated in connection with a washing machine timer, theconcept is applicable to positioning other devices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembly ofatimer, selection buttons and the selection mechanism. Only the selectionbuttons and timer knob are visible to the user.

FIG. 2 is a split, enlarged view of the extreme left and right portionsof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation from line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view of the pin and disc arrangement from line 44 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective of the disc and mask assembly.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the manner in which the mask is actuated. Thisis a meandering section on line 66 of FIG. 10.

FIGS. 7-10 are similar views showing the relative positions of the mask,disc and selected pins for various possible soak positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The various selection buttons atthe left in FIG. 1 are used to select the desired function or cycle ofthe machine. The four right-hand buttons do not select a rotary positionof the timer but electrically modify a selection in the case ofthreebuttons and the cancel button cancels all previous selections. Thepre-wash and soak buttons can be selected in combination with certainother buttons. The remaining buttons are mutually exclusive in thatdepressing and latching one will cancel a prior selection from amongthat group. Each of the ten buttons on the left will actuate or set apin which functions to select the rotary position of the timer at theright of FIG. I. The details ofthc timer are not shown in the drawings.The timer may be any desired type. It is only necessary to understandthat in the 360 rotation of the timer a number of washing cycles areavailable depending upon the starting rotary position of the timer.Normally at the conclusion of a cycle the washing machine is shut off.But if soak is selected in combination with a cycle there are switcheswhich modify the circuit so the timer will bridge the off" position andcontinue from soak into the wash program. When a button is depressed itlatches in the depressed position. The latch mechanism is not shown. Asmay be seen in FIG. 3, there is a stiff wire 10 journaled in supports 12positioned along the lower edge of panel 14. One end of the wire is bentto hook into plate 16 actuated by the soak button journaled on shaft 18.When the button is depressed (dashed line) the wire I0 is torsionallystressed so the right end of the wire which engages the hole in the soakpin S is biased towards the panel. Each of the ten pins is reciprocallymounted between the triangular plates 20,22 fixed on the panel tooverlie the disc 24 fixed on timer shaft 26. The timer shaft isreciprocable by means of knob 28 which is also employed to rotate thetimer manually. When the knob is pulled out (FIG. 4) the timer lineswitch is open and the disc is positioned close to plate 22 where a depressed pin will project down far enough to fall into the proper hole inthe disc when the disc is rotated to position the hole under the pin,thus positioning the timer in the proper position. The knob is nowpushed in to start the operation and disengage the disc so the timer canbe rotated by its motor.

The pins are denoted by letter designations on the drawings to simplifyorientation to the holes in the disc, the holes being designated bysimilar letters which correspond to the selection buttons. Thus the soakbutton selects pin S which will find" hole S. Each pin has an enlargedcentral portion between the plates 20,22 which is engaged by theassociated wire end. The ends of the pin guide the pin and the lower endengages the disc. A bearing plate 30 is fixed to the underside of disc24 by screws 32,32 with the radial keys 34 engaging slots 36 in the discand the central bushing 38 serving to mount the disc and plate on thetimer shaft. The plate mounts on the disc with rim 40 against theunderside of the disc so annular lip 42 is spaced from the disc with thehub 44 of stamped and formed member 46 captured between the disc and lip42 for rotational movement relative to the disc. The member has adepending finger 48 engaged by the end 50 of spring 52 coiled around thebushing 38 and engaging pin 54 fixed in the bottom of the hub. Thisbiases the member clockwise to the limit position determined byengagement of the vertical front faces of actuators projecting upthrough slots in the disc.

The member 46 has arms supporting actuators. Actuator 56 projects upthrough slot 58 and another actuator 60 projects through slot 62. Thesetwo acutators 56,60 lie on the radius of Knitted Fabric pin KF and willbe engaged by pin KF if it has been set. When so engaged, member 46 isrestrained from moving with the disc and various masks (80,82,84) aremoved relative to certain holes (S, PP+S, KF+S) in the disc. As movementcontinues, the sloping face of the actuator will be engaged by the endof the slot to cam the actuator down and disengage the mask for returnto its normal position, its function having been served.

There are two Permanent Press cycles. The soak position for both is thesame. Selection of either can cause the masks to function. When pin PPWhas been set, it can engage actuator 64 projecting through slot 66 oractuator 68 (slot 70) and pin PPC can engage actuator 72 or 74(projecting through slots 76,78, respectively).

There are three masks which serve to permit or block entry of the soakpin S into one of the three available soak holes. Thus mask 80 isnormally adjacent but not blocking hole S at the soak only or soak plusthe Cotton, Linens, White" cycle. This mask must be moved into blockingposition for the pin S to bypass the hole. In FIG. 7 the pin 5 isdesignated as actuated by being shaded and is shown in the hole 8. Itwill be noted the pins KF, PPW, and PPC are on the same radius asactuators 60, 68 and 74, respectively. Had any of these pins been set,it would have engaged its associated actuator to move mask 80 acrosshole S to prevent entry at that position to bypass that potentialposition. Subsequently the engaged actuator would be cammed down torelease the pin. ln FIG. 8 both CLW and S have been set. The soak"position is the same. Thus soak only (FIG. 7) or soak plus Cotton,Linens, White (FIG. 8) result in pin 5 finding the same starting point.

The proper starting point when soak and either Permanent Press cycle areselected in combination is the hole PP+S which is normally blocked bymask 82. This is illustrated in FIG. 9 where the set pins are PPW and Sand mask 82 has has been moved away from the hole. From the drawing itis clear that if PPC had been set instead of PPW, the result would bethe same. At this position, if any other pin has been set, there is noneed for an actuator responding to it the hole PP+S being normallyblocked.

The third soak pin hole KF+S which is normally blocked by mask 84 whichis moved to its inoperative position by pin KF engaging actuator 56 asillustrated in FIG. 10.

From the above it will be seen that pin S, PP+S find" the proper holefrom the three potential holes, 8. PP+S and KF+S. When approaching thenormally open hole S with any of pins PPW. PPC or KF set, the associatedactuator (68, 74,60) will move mask 80 to block hole 5 and bypass theposition. lf, on the other hand, only S or S+CLW have been set, pin Swill drop in the hole to position the timer. If S has not been set,normal positioning is effective. Pin S should drop into hole PP+S onlyif one of the two Permanent Press cycles has been selected. Therefore,mask 82 should be moved to expose PP+S only by pin PPW or PPC engagingactuator 68 or 74. No other pins will move mask 82 to its inoperativeposition. Similarly, hole KF+S can be exposed only by pin KF engagingactuator 56 to move mask 84 to its inoperative position.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a member movable over aprescribed path.

a plurality of selectable means mounted adjacent the member for movementbetween active and inactive positions.

a plurality of stop means on said member engageable by said selectablemeans when in active position, each of said selectable means having anassociated stop means whereby a selectable means in active position willengage its associated stop means at a predetermined desired and selectedposition in the path of movement of the member,

one of the selectable means having a plurality of associated stop meanswhereby a plurality of selected positions exist in conjunction with saidone select able means,

certain of the other selectable means being operable in combination withsaid one of the selectable means,

and means responsive to specific combinations of said one selectablemeans and which of said certain selectable means is operable todetermine which of said plurality of stop means will be effective whilerendering the others ineffective.

2. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a device including arotary disc,

a plurality of pins positioned adjacent the disc and movable between aninactive position and an active position in which the pin is urgedagainst the disc,

selecting means for urging selected pins to active position,

each of the pins being at different radial distance from the axis ofrotation of the disc whereby there is a separate rotational path on thedisc for each pin,

stop means on the disc in each rotational path engageable with a pin inactive position,

one rotational path being provided with plural stops means whereby thespecific pin associated therewith potentially has plural positions inwhich it engages a stop means,

and means responsive to actuation or non-actuation of certain selectingmeans in combination with the selecting means associated with saidspecific pin to determine which of said plural stop means is effectivewhilst the remainder of said plural stop means is ineffective.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said responsive meanscomprises masking means associated with each of said plural stop meansand movable between active and inactive positions,

actuating means engageable by certain pins to actu ate said maskingmeans between said active and in active positions.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said stop means comprise ahole in the disc into which said pins may project,

said plural stop means comprising multiple holes at equal radialdistance from said axis and circumfer entially spaced,

said masking means being operative to prevent entry of a pin when inactive position.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the masking means associatedwith one of said multiple holes is normally in inactive position and ismoved to active position by engagement of any of certain selected pinswith the actuating means.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the masking means associatedwith another of said multiple holes is normally in active position andis moved to inactive position by engagement of a certain selected pinwith the actuating means.

7. In combination with a washing machine timer which provides aplurality of washing programs within 360 rotation of the timer dependingupon the rotary position of the timer when it is energized, the timerbeing provided with a disc and a plurality of pins engageable with thedisc to stop manual rotation of the timer at a desired rotary positiondetermined by actuation of a selected one of a plurality of programselec tion means to render an associated pin effective, means forselecting a function not a normal part of any of said programs andoperative when actuated alone to render an associated pin effective tostop the timer at a position which provides said function, theimprovement comprising,

means for providing said function prior to and as a part of a pluralityof said programs and being responsive to actuation of both said functionselecting means and one of the program selection means to cause a pin toengage the disc and stop the timer at a position other than thatnormally provided by the program selection pin alone or by the functionselection pin alone.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which the pin associated with thefunction selection means is potentially engageable with the disc at aplurality of positions,

said means responsive to actuation of both selecting means beingengageable by the pin associated with the actuated program selectionmeans and operative to render only one of said plurality of positionseffective 9. The combination of claim 8 in which the disc has stop meansat each of said plurality of positions and said responsive meanscomprises a masking device movable between an active position masking astop means and an inactive position in which the stop means may beengaged by the pin associated with the selected program.

10. The combination of claim 9 in which the masking device is engageableby any of a plurality of pins asso ciated with programs and the maskingdevice includes different masking portions associated with each of thestop means whereby the operation of the masking device relative to eachstop means is determined by which of the programs has been selected.

1. Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a member movable over aprescribed path, a plurality of selectable means mounted adjacent themember for movement between active and inactive positions, a pluralityof stop means on said member engageable by said selectable means when inactive position, each of said selectable means having an associated stopmeans whereby a selectable means in active position will engage itsassociated stop means at a predetermined desired and selected positionin the path of movement of thE member, one of the selectable meanshaving a plurality of associated stop means whereby a plurality ofselected positions exist in conjunction with said one selectable means,certain of the other selectable means being operable in combination withsaid one of the selectable means, and means responsive to specificcombinations of said one selectable means and which of said certainselectable means is operable to determine which of said plurality ofstop means will be effective while rendering the others ineffective. 2.Apparatus for selecting a desired position of a device including arotary disc, a plurality of pins positioned adjacent the disc andmovable between an inactive position and an active position in which thepin is urged against the disc, selecting means for urging selected pinsto active position, each of the pins being at different radial distancefrom the axis of rotation of the disc whereby there is a separaterotational path on the disc for each pin, stop means on the disc in eachrotational path engageable with a pin in active position, one rotationalpath being provided with plural stops means whereby the specific pinassociated therewith potentially has plural positions in which itengages a stop means, and means responsive to actuation or non-actuationof certain selecting means in combination with the selecting meansassociated with said specific pin to determine which of said plural stopmeans is effective whilst the remainder of said plural stop means isineffective.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said responsivemeans comprises masking means associated with each of said plural stopmeans and movable between active and inactive positions, actuating meansengageable by certain pins to actuate said masking means between saidactive and inactive positions.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 inwhich said stop means comprise a hole in the disc into which said pinsmay project, said plural stop means comprising multiple holes at equalradial distance from said axis and circumferentially spaced, saidmasking means being operative to prevent entry of a pin when in activeposition.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the masking meansassociated with one of said multiple holes is normally in inactiveposition and is moved to active position by engagement of any of certainselected pins with the actuating means.
 6. Apparatus according to claim5 in which the masking means associated with another of said multipleholes is normally in active position and is moved to inactive positionby engagement of a certain selected pin with the actuating means.
 7. Incombination with a washing machine timer which provides a plurality ofwashing programs within 360* rotation of the timer depending upon therotary position of the timer when it is energized, the timer beingprovided with a disc and a plurality of pins engageable with the disc tostop manual rotation of the timer at a desired rotary positiondetermined by actuation of a selected one of a plurality of programselection means to render an associated pin effective, means forselecting a function not a normal part of any of said programs andoperative when actuated alone to render an associated pin effective tostop the timer at a position which provides said function, theimprovement comprising, means for providing said function prior to andas a part of a plurality of said programs and being responsive toactuation of both said function selecting means and one of the programselection means to cause a pin to engage the disc and stop the timer ata position other than that normally provided by the program selectionpin alone or by the function selection pin alone.
 8. The combination ofclaim 7 in which the pin associated with the function selection means ispotentially engageable with the disc at a plurality of positions, saidmeans responsive to actuation of both selecting means beIng engageableby the pin associated with the actuated program selection means andoperative to render only one of said plurality of positions effective.9. The combination of claim 8 in which the disc has stop means at eachof said plurality of positions and said responsive means comprises amasking device movable between an active position masking a stop meansand an inactive position in which the stop means may be engaged by thepin associated with the selected program.
 10. The combination of claim 9in which the masking device is engageable by any of a plurality of pinsassociated with programs and the masking device includes differentmasking portions associated with each of the stop means whereby theoperation of the masking device relative to each stop means isdetermined by which of the programs has been selected.